Ship stabilizer



13, 1940- J. v. GILIBERTY 2.210.935

SHIP STABILIZER I Filed Dec. 21, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYAug. 13, 1948' J. v. GILIBERTY INVENTOR James 1 Gi/iberfy 6 Sheets-Sheet2 SHIP STABILIZER Filed boo. 21. 1938 SHIP STABILIZER Filed Dec. 21,1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Y James Gi/iber'fy B Wk ATTORNEY WL 3,1940. J. v. GILIBERTY 2. 0.9

SHIP STABILIZER Filed Dec. 21, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR BY JamesV. GILIBERTY SHIP STABILIZER Filed Dac. 21, 1938 e Sheets-Sheet sINVENTOR JAMES V. GILIBERTY Y ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 13, 1940 UNITEDSTATES PATENT o F cE SHIP STABILIZER James V. Giliberty, Hempstead, N.Y. Application December 21, 1938, Serial No. 247,045

5 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 188?, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'700. G, 757) The present invention relates to shipstabilizers andsubmarine bow planes and it has par ticular relation to planes of thevariable angle extensible and retractable type.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a ship rollor pitch stabilizer of the movable plane type which may be moved betweenextended and retracted positions and its angle of attack varied by therotation of the shaft upon which the plane is mounted and without anyrectilinear movement hinge or knuckle connections.

or the use of any controlled manually from the ships bridge.

With these and other objects in view, as well as other advantages thatmay use of the improvements, the

beincident to the I invention consists in the parts and combinationsthereof hereinafter set forth and claimed,

with the under-' the appended claims.

In order to make the invention more clearly understood, there are shownin the accompanying drawings, means for carrying the invention intopractical use, without limiting the improve- 1 ments in their usefulapplication to the particular construction, which, for the purpose ofexplanation, have been made lustration.

the subject of iltion Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional viewtaken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

certain parts of the control system being shown diagrammati- C allyFigs. 3 to 6 are diagrammatic views of the plane operating mechanismstions; e

in different posi- Fig. '7 is an elevational inboard view of the planein its extended position; x

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fi 7; d

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sec tional viewi of an' hydraulic ram mechanismfor actuating the plane;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the hull of asubmarine vessel, the plane being shown in its inoperative position.

Fig. 11 is an inboard elevational View of the plane shown in Fig. 10; a

Fig. 12 is a similar view of the plane in its neutral position; and

'Fig. 13 183. view of the plane rotated through an arc of from theposition shown in'Fig. 12.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 to 6 thereof,roll or pitch stabilizing mechanism constructed in accordance with thepresent invention is shown as comprising a plane lllof any preferredcontour and balance which is secured by a frangible flanged coupling llto a shaft !2 extending through the hull l3 of a vessel. The shaft l 2is rotatably mounted in a bearing [4 secured in the hull l3 and itsouter extremity adjacent to the coupling H extends at an angle to theaxis of the major portion thereof so that the plane lll will be disposedat a corresponding'angle. The plane H! is oscillated between anextend-ed protected position and a position within a chamber or housingH5 in the hull of the ship and behind the overlying skin l3 thereof, byhydraulic means including a piston vane I6 which is keyed to the innerend of the shaft l2 for oscillation within an arcuate or semi-circularchamber ll provided in a housing l8 mounted in the hull l3.

The vane I6 is oscillated in the chamber I? by fluid under pressurewhich is forced through the system in the desired direction by apressure pump l9 driven by an electric motor 2E). The direction of flowof the fluid motive medium is controlled by a hollow cylinder valvemember 2| which is rotatably mounted in a valve casing 22 incircumferentially spaced relation thereto, the space therebetween beingdivided by two diametrically disposed partitions 23 into an inletchamber 24 and an outlet chamber 25. The interior' of the cylinder valve2! is likewise divided into two chambers 26 and 21 by a diametricallyextending rotatable partition or follow-upvalve 28 having a gear segment29 fixed thereto exteriorly of the casing 22 for intermeshingengagementwith a gear 30 fixed to the shaft II, the ratio between thesegment 29 and gear 30 being one ,to one. 1 Communication between theinlet and outlet chambers 24 and 25 and the chambers 26 1 and 21' is attimes established through a pair of diametrically disposed ports 3! and32in the cylinder valve 2|. Communication is established between theinlet and outlet chambers 24 and 25 and opposite sides of the pump isthrough pipes 33 and 34. Also, communication is established between thechambers 26 and 21 and the chamber I? on opposite sides of the pistonvane I6 through ports 35 and 36 in the end wall of the valve casing 22and pipes 31 and 38.

The cylinder valve 2| is rotated in order to control the direction offlow of fluid to and from the several chambers and the direction anddegree of movement of the piston vane l6 and stabilizing plane In, bymeans of a three ring solenoid 39, one ring of which is stationary andprovided with a pair of oppositely disposed housing poles 40 and a pairof neutral poles 4| and the second and third rings of which arerotatable and provided with a pair of incline poles 42 and a pair ofdecline poles 43, respectively. Cooperating with these poles is a singlelaminated armature 44' which is mounted on a shaft 45, to one end ofwhich a segmental rack 46 is fixed for intermeshing engagement with agear 41 fixed to the cylinder valve. 2|. The poles of these ringsolenoids may be selectively energized in order torotate automaticallythe armature 44, segmental rack 46, gear 41 and cylinder valve 2|, bymeans of a pilot control gyro indicated generally at 48 (Fig. 2).

This pilot control gyro is of commercial design and includes a frame 50which is fixed to the ship so as to tilt with the roll thereof, and arotor which is mounted in a casing 5| for rotation about a horizontalaxis. The casing 5| of the rotor is provided with a contact finger 52engageable with an incline contact 53, a neutral contact 54 and adecline contact 55, all fixed to the frame 56 but insulated therefrom.

When it is desired to place the stabilizing mechanism under theautomatic control of the pilot control gyro, a switch arm 56 is moved toa position in which it closes a contact 56 Assuming that the ship, atthe moment, is on an even keel, a circuit will thereby be establishedfrom the ships electrical supply, through a wire 51, switch arm 56, wire58, frame 50 and casing 5| of pilot gyro 48, contact finger 52, neutralcontact 54', wire 59, windings of neutral poles 4| of the ring solenoid39, and wires 68 and 6| back to source. The energizing of these poleswill cause the armature 44 to swing to the vertical position shown. inFigs. 2 and 3 and, through the medium of the segmental rack 46 and gear41, to rotate the cylinder valve 2| to a position in which the ports 3|and 32 communicate with the chambers 26 and 21 respectively, on oppositesides of the follow-up valve 28. This will permit fluid under pressureto flow from the inlet chamber 24 through port 32, chamber 26,'port 35,and pipe 37 into right-hand side of the chamber l1, thus forcing thepiston vane l6 in a counter-clockwise direction until the follow-upvalve 28 rotating with the vane 6 but in an opposite direction, closesthe ports 3| and 32, thus arresting the motion of the ports in theneutral position shown in Fig. 3 in which the stabilizing plane Inoccupies a similar position. During this movement of the parts the fluidin the chamber I! in front of the vane I6 is displaced therefrom throughthe pipe 38, port 36, chamber 21, port 32,-

chamber 25 and pipe 34 back to the inlet side of the pump l9.

If, now, the ship should roll to starboard the frame 50 of the pilotgyro, moving with the ship, will cause the contact finger 52 to leavethe contact 54, interrupting the circuit just traced, and engage theincline contact 53, thereby establishing a circuit through wire 62,windings of the incline poles 42 of the ring solenoid 39 and wires 63and 6| back to source. The energizing of these poles will swing thearmature 44 in a counter-clockwise direction and rotate the cylindervalve 2| in a clockwise direction so as to carry the ports 3| and 32therein to the positions shown in Fig. 4. This will permit fluid underpressure to flow from the inlet chamber 24, through the port 3| into thechamber 26 at the right of the follow-up valve 28, and thence throughthe port 35 and pipe 31 into the chamber I! on the right of the pistonvane l6, thereby forcing the same in a counter-clockwise direction. Thismovement will continue until the follow-up valve 28, now rotating in aclockwise direction, closes the ports 3| and 32, thus arresting themovement of the ports in the incline positions shown in Fig. 4 in whichthe stabilizing plane l0 will occupy its maximum angle of attack.

In a like manner, if the ship should roll to the port side the frame 50will tilt in a counterclockwise direction breaking the circuit throughcontacts 52-53 and close contacts 52-55. This will establish a circuitthrough wire 64, windings of decline poles 43 of solenoid 39 and wires65 and 6| back to source. The energizing of these poles will swing thearmature 44 in a clockwise direction and rotate the sleeve valve 2| in acounter-clockwise direction so as to move the ports 3| and 32 to thepositions shown in Fig. 5. This will permit fluid under pressure to flowfrom the inlet chamber 24, through the port 3| and into the chamber 21and thence through the port 36 and pipe 38 into the left-hand side ofthe chamber I! so as to force the piston vane |6 in a clockwisedirection to the position shown in Fig. 5, at which time the partition28, moving in a counter-clockwise direction, will close the ports 3| and32 and cause the cessation of further movement with the stabilizing vanedisposed at its maximum angle of decline.

If it is desired to dispense with the stabilizing vanes, the switch arm56 is actuated to open the .circuit through contact 56 and to close acircuit through a contact 56 wire 65, windings of housing poles 40 andwire 6| back to source. The energizing of these poles will swing thearmature 44 in a clockwise direction, thus rotating the sleeve valve 2|in a counter-clockwise direction so as to carry the ports 3| and 32 tothe position shown in Fig. 6. This will permit fluid under pressure toflow from the inlet chamben 24 through the port 3| into the chamber 21and thence through the port 36 and pipe 38 into the left-hand side ofthe chamber IT. This will force the piston vane IS in a clockwisedirection and swing the stabilizing plane ID from an extended positionto a retracted position within the housing 9 at which the time motion ofthe parts will be arrested by the follow-up valve 28, moving in aclockwise direction, closing the ports 3| and 32.

The working angle of the stabilizing vane may be controlled between themam'mum angles of inclination and declination directly from the shipsbridge through the medium of a telemotor 66. This device is connectedthrough linkage mechanism 61 and gearing 68 with the movable rings ofthe solenoid 39 so that the incline poles 42 and decline poles 43 may bemoved toward and from the neutral poles 4| the required distance andthuscontrol the degree of rotation of the armature M and sleeve valve 21 inopposite directions. The stabilizing planes ill-may thus be adjusted tothe most efficient angle and in accordance with the roll of the" ship.It will be understood that a stabilizing plane, such asthat hereinabovedescribed, isalso provided on the port side of the ship but will rotatein an opposite direction from that on the starboard side so that whenthe plane on one side of the ship inclines the plane on the oppositeside will decline. It will also be understood that when the inventionhereinbefore described is employed in connection with submarine bowplanes, the planes will incline and decline together.

In Fig. 9 there is shown another type of fluid pressure device foroscillating the shaft l2 and stabilizing plane l0 instead of thecylinder and oscillating vane hereinbefore described. This devicecomprises a pair of opposed cylinders 10 and H having rams 12 and 13mounted for reciprocation therein. These rams are connected for movementin unison by means of a rack 14 which meshes with a segmented gear 15fixed to-the shaft l 2. Fluid under pressure is at times admitted intoone of these cylinders and permitted to escape from the other, throughports 16 and 11 adapted tobe communicably connected with the pipes 31and 38 which lead to the cylinder valve casing 22.

In Figs, 10 to 13 there is illustrated another type of planeparticularly adapted for use with submarine vessels for submerging andraising purposes and comprising a plane 18 which is secured by means ofa flanged coupling 19 to a shaft 80 extending through the hull 8| of thevessel. The shaft 89 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 82 secured withinthe hull and its outer extremity adjacent to the coupling 19 extends atan angle to the axis of the major portion thereof so that the plane 18extends at a corresponding angle thereto, as in the structure firstdescribed. The shaft 8!! is oscillated so as to swing the plane 18between an extended position and a retracted vertical position alongsidethe conning tower of the vessel by mechanism including a spur gear 83which is keyed to the inner end of the shaft 80 for intermeshingengagement with a pinion 84.

This pinion is fixed to a stub shaft 85 journalled in bearings 86carried by a housing .81 and is driven by a worm gear 88 fixed theretoand in turn driven by a worm 89 keyed to a shaft 90. This shaft is alsojournalled in the housing 81 and is rotated in any preferred manner,such as by an electric motor 9|. A similar mechanism for operating theplane on the opposite side. of the vessel is also driven by the worm 89,the worm gears 88 being angularly arranged to permit the intermeshing ofboth gears with the worm. In this construction both planes incline anddecline together.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanyingdrawings comprehend only 7 the general and preferred embodiment of theinvention, and that various other changes in the construction,proportion and arrangement of the parts may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the nature and scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

The invention described. herein may be manufactured and/0r used by orfor the Government of the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim:

1. Stabilizing apparatus for ships comprising a shaft rotatably mountedin and projecting through the hull of the ship, a vane carried by theoutboard end of said shaft and extending at an angle to the axis ofrotation thereof for swinging movement between an extended roll dampingposition and a retracted position substantially parallel to the side ofthe hull, hydraulic means for rotating said shaft, cylinder valve meansfor controlling the operation of said hydraulic means, means foroperating said valve means, means responsive to the roll of the ship forcontrolling the operation of said valve operating means, and a secondvalve means actuated by said shaft for controlling the range of movementof said cylinder valve means.

2. Stabilizing apparatus for ships comprising a shaft rotatably mountedin and projecting through the hull of the ship, said hull including anouter skin, a plane carried by the outboard end of said shaft andextending at an angle to the axis of rotation thereof for swingingmovement between an extended roll damping position and a retractedposition substantially parallel to the side of the hull, said hull beingformed to provide a recessed portion and a portion of said outer skinoverlapping the recessed portion thereby substantially enclosing thesame, and hydraulic means for rotating said shaft to swing said plane toa retracted position within said recessed portion and within the outlineof and protected by said skin 3. Stabilizing apparatus for shipscomprising a shaft rotatably mounted in and projecting through thehullof the ship,-a plane carried by the outboard end of said shaft andextending at an angle to the axis. of rotation thereof for swingingmovement between an extended roll damping position and a retractedposition substantially parallel to the side of the hull, hydraulic meansfor rotating said shaft, cylinder valve means for controlling theoperation of said hydraulic means, means for operating said valve means,means responsive to the pitch of the ship for controlling the operationof said valve operating means and a second valve means actuated by saidshaft for controlling the operation of said cylinder valve means.

4. Submarine submerging and raising apparatus comprising a pair ofshafts disposed one on each side of the bow of the vessel and rotatablein and projecting through'the hull thereof, said hull including an outerskin, a plane carried by the outboard end of each of said shafts andextending at an angle to the axis of rotation thereof, said hull beingformed to provide a recessed portion on each side of the bow thereof anda portion of said outer skin overlapping the recessed portion, therebysubstantially enclosing the same, and means for rotating said shafts inthe same direction simultaneously to swing said planes between extendedplaning positions and protected positions within said recessed portionsback of the overlapping portions'of the skin and for varying the angleof said planes when in their cessed portion, on each side of the bowthereof recessed portion thereby substantially enclosing the same, andmeans for rotating said shafts in the same direction simultaneously toswing said planes in a conical path between extended planing positionsand protected positions within said and a portion of said outer skinoverlapping the recessed portions back of the overlapping portions ofthe skin and for varying the angle of said planes when in their extendedpositions between declined submerging positions and inclined raisingpositions.

JAMES V. GILIBERTY.

